Ahnung (pronounced ah-NUNG) is a rescue dog from Red Lake reservation. Her name means "star" in ojibway. A survivor of neglect and abuse, she is the north star for many ... teaching compassion, love, forgiveness and resilience. Ahnung is a registered therapy dog through Delta Society and volunteers with at-risk youth, in hospice and with cancer patients.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Okay ... so i've been on break from blogging. You have to remember ... i'm used to the cold weather of northern Minnesota so this heat wears me out. All I want to do is sleep (my Human tells me that's what I tell her no matter what the temperature is ... what does she know!). Anyway, I don't have many words to say so I thought i'd just post one of my favorite photos from a photo shoot that I had at Photographers Guild a few months ago. It shows me looking perky ... well, don't be fooled. It's only because the photographer is taunting me with treats. Yes, i'm food motivated, aren't we all????

Most of the time you won't see me looking this perky. Most of the time ... yes, my Human is right ... i'm sleeping :)

Sunday, July 12, 2009

My Human just got back a few days ago from visiting her mom in the Philippines. While she was there she took photos of my fellow stray dogs and cats and wrote about it. You should check out her blog.

What she didn't mention was how she asked her cousin Edith to eat a "balut". A balut is a Filipino street snack and a delicacy. It's essentially a duck egg with a fetus inside - between seventeen to twenty days in gestation. When she was a kid she was challenged by her cousin Edith to try one ... she was told "you're not a real Filipina unless you eat a balut!" Well, my Human thought she could take on that challenge. As instructed, she poked a hole in the shell and sucked the juice out. She claims that was tolerable ... or at least, from what she can remember. Then she was told to peel the shell off. Her stomach started to turn. She tells me though that as a kid she was very competitive and was not about to lose a bet or not take on a challenge! After peeling the shell off what she saw was an undeveloped duck embryo, lots of blood vessels, veins (the photo on the right is from the Deep End Dining blog,) what looked like eyes attempting to develop, maybe a beak .... she closed her eyes, and took a bite. Some are lucky enough to bite into soft meat. My Human wasn't so lucky. Her first was a crunch into the beak and her mouth felt the sensation of duck feather --- she says that at that point she knew she couldn't take the challenge any further. She gulped down what was already in her mouth, quickly grabbed a glass of water, another glass, another glass, and yet another glass --- her memories of that experience remain with her decades later and never again has she ever eaten a balut. In fact, she's a vegetarian now and has been one for over 20 years. I wonder if that formative childhood experience had anything to do with it?? :)

My Human grew up in Thailand. You would think she's be used to all this "interesting" delicacies. Her family had a maid growing up ... she tells me how she would often find her maid snacking on fried bugs (water bugs and sometimes worms) with jasmine rice. She would hear the crunch of the bug as her maid Tong would be relishing the flavor of the bugs blended with rice. She said that Tong always had a smile on her face when she was munching on bugs and rice. It appeared to be one of her favorite meals. In Thai she would ask my Human, "you want some?" I'll give you one guess on what her answer was! [If you'd like to learn more about eating bugs in Thailand check out this website].

Well ... my Human has had the opportunity to enjoy baluts and bugs ... I keep telling her how lucky she is to have been given that opportunity. She doesn't quite see it that way. Me?? I'm not picky. I'll eat both baluts and bugs!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

It was two years ago today when my Humans said goodbye to Shadow. I can sense in their heart how much they still miss him. My Human rescued him from the country roads of Owasso, Oklahoma -- she was training for a triathlon and after a hill workout on what was referred to as "killer hill" she saw him wandering the roads, ribs protruding, dried blood on his ear (obviously a wound that had healed) and filled with ticks and fleas. She took him in that hot summer afternoon. She later discovered that he had been shot ... x-rays revealed he had lead in his skull. Apparently, someone had shot at him and took a little piece of his ear ... as the bullet hit his ear it shattered leaving pieces of lead in his skull. My Human tells me Shadow hated July 4th and fireworks ... on June 18, 2007 he was diagnosed with intestinal cancer and given a few weeks to live ... he was a smart boy and decided to tell my Human early in the morning of July 2, 2007 that it was time for him to go. He told her by burrowing himself in a hole he dug by a bush in their backyard and laying in it -- something he has never done before. He was not about to go through another year of fireworks and trauma!

My Human created a video to celebrate his life. It's a beautiful tribute ..... my Humans lost both Shen and Shadow in an 8 month period - Shen to spleen cancer and Shadow to intestinal cancer.

I hope they know that their spirits continue to live on in Missy, Mister, Henry and myself.

My Human also wrote a poem for Shadow on July 4th, "Whispers from Rainbow bridge" -- you can read it here.

About Me

I was abandoned in Oct 2008 with a litter of 8 puppies. Red Lake Rosie's Rescue up at Red Lake reservation took me in. I was then taken into Pet Haven's foster program ... and even with heartworm, lymes, coccidia, a gun shot wound and no front teeth (i ground my teeth down to my gums in search of food!) they took me in, cared for me,and loved me. In July, 2011 I was diagnosed with mammary cancer and had a lumpectomy. In April, 2012 I was diagnosed with a rare aggressive cancer, invasive adenosquamous carcinoma and had major surgery in my neck/back to remove the tumor. In November, 2012 we learned that the cancer has spread to my lungs. We tried chemo for a month and it didn't help so we stopped chemo at the end of December. So now, it's yummy raw whole food and a bunch of supplements and LOTS of love and play! But no worries,I'm still shining my star so brightly!
I am a Delta Society Therapy Dog and currently volunteer in hospice with mom.
My email address is:
ahnung.star@gmail.com